TOTTENHAM will make a last-gasp double deadline- day bid for Blackburn’s Christopher Samba and Junior Hoilett.

Harry Redknapp is desperate to boost his team’s impressive form and has identified Samba and Hoilett as his top targets.

Defender Samba has handed in a transfer request, saying “it will be very difficult for me to play for this team again”, while Canadian winger Hoilett is out of contract in the summer.

QPR also maintain a strong interest in Samba and are close to sealing a deal for former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse. Wigan’s Hugo Rodallega is another forward on their radar, but they face competition from Fulham.

Other than bidding for Samba and Hoilett, Spurs are also battling Paris St Germain for Brazil striker Leandro Damiao, who is valued at £22 million by his club Internacional.

Tonight, Redknapp’s attention turns to a league tie with Wigan at White Hart Lane and his assistant Joe Jordan expects critics to continue doubting whether they can sustain a title challenge. He has called on his players to show the resilience of champions.

You have to accept people will doubt us. But we are actually being spoken about whereas before we’ve not been discussed.

Tottenham assistant boss Joe Jordan

Jordan has taken training with Kevin Bond ahead of the game with Redknapp, who is standing trial for alleged tax evasion, set to join the squad a few hours before kick-off.

It may not be the ideal preparation following a draw against Wolves, a heartbreaking defeat at Manchester City and a lacklustre FA Cup win over Watford, but it is the kind of match in which Spurs can show they have the nerve to stay close to City and Manchester United.

Jordan said: “You have to accept people will doubt us. But we are actually being spoken about whereas before we’ve not been discussed. Hopefully the doubt will continue because it means we are there or thereabouts.

“You have to accept that and get the results, and that consistency.

“Manchester United and Chelsea in recent years have proved that – and the rest have to prove it too.

“United had their knock – they got beaten by Manchester City – and came straight back with seven or eight straight victories. That’s how you respond to disappointments. As champions.”

Jordan is confident Spurs have the quality to keep pace with the leaders. They also have players such as Rafael van der Vaart and William Gallas who have won titles elsewhere.

“To be challengers, to compete – that’s what you want to do,” said Jordan. “If we don’t get stupid injuries and suspensions we could put up a challenge and compete with anyone within the league on our day.”

Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe are struggling with hamstring problems but Ledley King could return after being rested for the Watford win. Sandro and Gallas, however, have been ruled out.

Giovani Dos Santos, meanwhile is no closer to ending his Tottenham nightmare and has snubbed interest from both Russia and the United States, according to his agent.

Mexico forward Dos Santos, 22, has made just 15 starts during a four-year spell which has seen him sent out on loan three times. Redknapp has made it clear he has no future at the club and though Villarreal and Granada claimed they had put in bids, reports suggest both are unwilling to meet Spurs’ asking price of about £5m.

The transfer window shuts at 11pm tonight and Dos Santos’s agent, Vicente Montes, says his client is not near to completing a move.

“Giovani Dos Santos has offers from Russia and the United States but he has told them that he is not going to play there,” he said.

“Tottenham told Giovani that Major League Soccer in America had put in an offer for him but the player has other plans. As things stand, it appears that he will stay at Spurs.”

Montes says he is frustrated at Spurs’ price tag, saying: “When it comes to valuing Giovani they place him as a player with big numbers, yet they don’t play him.”

Last summer Dos Santos infuriated Tottenham by turning down a £13m transfer to Italy with Udinese as he wanted to move to Spain, which is still believed to be his preferred destination.